Corn Trades Near 4-Month Low as Crop Conditions Improve

June 17th, 2014

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Category: Grains, Oilseeds

(BusinessWeek) – Corn declined to near a four-month low in Chicago trading after crop conditions improved in the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter.

About 76 percent of U.S. corn was in good or excellent condition as of June 15, up from 75 percent a week earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported yesterday. The domestic corn harvest is set to reach a record 13.935 billion bushels from 13.925 billion a year earlier, the USDA forecast June 11.

Corn for December delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $4.41 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 5:31 a.m. local time after yesterday falling 1.2 percent, the most in a week. Prices reached $4.3875 on June 12, the lowest since Feb. 11.

“For the corn and soybean crops, both are clearly off to great starts,” economist Dennis Gartman wrote in his newsletter today. “The corn rating is the fifth-best in history while the bean crop’s rating is the best ever.”

Soybeans had emerged from the ground for 83 percent of the crop, compared with a five-year average of 77 percent, the USDA reported. About 73 percent of the soybean crop was rated in good or excellent condition on June 15, compared with 74 percent a week earlier.

Soybeans for delivery in November fell 0.2 percent to $12.1425 a bushel.

Wheat for September delivery advanced 0.3 percent to $5.9275 a bushel in Chicago, while milling wheat for November delivery traded on Euronext in Paris fell 0.3 percent to 187.25 euros ($254) a metric ton.

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